mcintosh vs jeff rowland

Jprice, how are you feeling about the MA7000 these days, are you still missing the Rowland?

length?...no.....breadth?....no....depth?...yes. We have 1D down...2D to go. For 2 channel audio. Definition is still not applicable.

I have never heard a so called 3d system sound anything like the real thing ever, especially when it comes to orchestral music. Anyone who frequents the concert hall will know this immediately, it is no secret. What you have with these 3d system is a very fatuging detailed sound that is nothing like the real thing. Anytime I hear people talking about this type of sound probably never heard the real thing or very seldom have heard the real thing. What you have is a detailed illusion of a sound that is totally unreal sounding. Some like this, I do not. Most of the time I will hear a system like this and i get bored almost immediately, totally uninvolving. Detailed and not musically satisfying.

Brianmgracom,

I've been playing the MA7000 almost non-stop since I bought it and it is gradually improving. The holographic, transparent - - - YES - - - Three-Dimensional soundstaging has become much more well defined. I don't know if I am forgetting the Rowland's strengths, or if the MA7000 is improving to the degree that it has equalled what I remember about the Rowland. It does, now sound very, very good. One of the earlier responses told me that I should try single ended rather than balanced cables for the CD input - which I did - it changes the sound, but I'm not yet sure which I like better. I can switch the inputs "on the fly" as was suggested and there is a definite difference. I think that the single ended input narrows the soundstage slightly and makes individual instruments and/or human voices a little a little more defined. (It moves the position of, say a female singer slightly upward and a little more to the left and makes her mouth a little smaller). Probably an anomaly of the difference in the wires themselves. Maybe I should switch the wires right to left and see if she now moves to the right . . . . This never-ending tinkering is fun, but gets old as well.

For the benefit of those who question my ability to listen and describe what I am hearing. . . I have been a high end (often very high end) listener for over 40 years, have owned very good equipment, well set up in well treated, dedicated sound rooms.

I am currently using the McIntosh MA7000 in a SECOND system, driving a pair of Sonus Faber Guarneri Mementos. Sources are an Esoteric X-01 (heavily modified) player. CD and SACD, Vinyl played on a VPI Super Scoutmaster table with their arm and a Benz Ruby 2 cartridge. Mark Levinson No. 25 phono stage. I own over 14,000 LPs.

My main system consists of Spectral DMC 30SL preamp, Spectral DMA 360 monaural amps, Avalon Eidolon Diamonds or Audio Physic Caldera III speakers, Wadia 581SE player, Basis Debut Vacuum turntable, Graham Phantom arm with choice of Graham Nightingale, Clearaudio Discovery or Koetsu Pro-IV cartridges. PASS X-Ono phono Stage etc. etc.

I am terribly sorry to learn that what I have always though to be three dimensional soundstaging is a figment of an over-active imagination on my part. I guess I'd better start changing stuff out to see if I cant make my systems sound flat and one dimensional, and I'd surely better rotate my speakers inward and tilt them forward to stop the sound from coming from space well above the speakers and from, seemingly, from wall to wall well outside the edges of the speakers. I didn't realize that my systems were sterile and had no bass. Gosh, I've got $90,000 worth of speakers that must not sound like a flip because they have the ability to project a phony soundstage.

I also had better go more often to live performances - Heck, I only go to symphonies and Operas a couple of dozen times a year. I've got to go a lot more to find out what live music really sounds like. Maybe I should go to a few rock concerts to really learn to appreciate "correct" sound.

Actually, I think I'll turn on one of my boring, uninvolving, unreal sounding, utterly fatiguing, pile of garbage systems and listen to music, with no bass or no life.

What are these people talking about?

Jprice-I was interested in your comments concerning balanced cables;I would expect you would hear a difference since the balanced cable has better noise rejection thus increasing microdynamics; and being able to retreive more low level detail from your sources.
It should only get better;want to try a cable that is excellant and recommended even by Ralph from Atmasphere is the Mogami Neglex;won't break the bank and is a stellar performer;excellant reports here in the discussion groups as well.